This invention relates generally to load responsive fluid control valves and to fluid power systems incorporating such valves, which systems are supplied by a single fixed or variable displacement pump. Such load responsive control valves can be used in a multiple load system, in which a plurality of loads are simultaneously controlled under positive and negative load conditions by separate control valves.
In more particular aspects this invention relates to a fluid power system in which load responsive direction control valves responding to upstream pressure differential between inlet and load chambers are employed together with load responsive valves responding to down stream actuator pressure or pressure differential, both types of load responsive valves transmitting positive load pressure signals to the pump control.
Closed center load responsive fluid control valves are very desirable for a number of reasons. They permit load control with reduced power losses and therefore, increased system efficiency and when controlling one load at a time provide a feature of flow control irrespective of the variation in the magnitude of the load. Normally such valves include a load responsive control, which automatically maintains pump discharge pressure at a level higher, by a constant pressure differential, than the pressure required to sustain the load. A variable orifice, introduced between pump and load, varies the flow supplied to the load, each orifice area corresponding to a different flow level, which is maintained constant irrespective of variation in magnitude of the load. Such a system, although useful in many applications, is limited by several basic system disadvantages.
Normally the load responsive valve control can maintain a constant pressure differential and therefore constant flow characteristics when operating only one load at a time. With two or more loads, simultaneously controlled, only the highest of the loads will retain the flow control characteristics, the speed of actuation of lower loads varying with the change in magnitude of the highest load. This drawback can be overcome in part by the provision of a proportional valve as disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,470,694 dated Oct. 7, 1969 and also in U.S. Pat. No. 3,455,210 issued to Allen on July 15, 1969. However, while those valves are effective in controlling positive loads they do not retain flow control characteristics when controlling negative loads, which instead of taking supply the energy to the fluid system and hence the speed of actuation of such a load in a negative load system will vary with the magnitude of the negative load. Especially with socalled overcenter loads, where a positive load may become a negative load, such a valve will lose its speed control characteristics in the negative mode.
This drawback can be overcome by the provision of a load responsive fluid control valve as disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,744,517 issued July 10, 1973 and my U.S. Pat. No. 3,882,896 issued May 13, 1975. However, while these valves are effective in controlling both positive and negative loads, with pump pressure responding to the highest pressure of a system load being controlled, they still utilize a controlling orifice located between the pump and the motor during positive load mode of operation and therefore control the fluid flow into the fluid motor instead of controlling fluid flow out of the fluid motor.
This drawback can be overcome by provision of load responsive fluid control valves ad disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,998,134 issued Dec. 21, 1976 entitled "Load Responsive Fluid Control Valves". However, while such valves maintain the pump discharge pressure higher, by a contstant pressure differential, than the highest load pressure of system loads being controlled and are effective in controlling multiple positive loads, while maintaining a relatively constant down stream pressure at the motor exhaust, during control of negative loads those valves supply the motor inlet with throttled down fluid from the pump circuit, therefore using flow from the pump, while controlling a negative load. In certain fluid power control systems it is preferable, while controlling a negative load, to supply fluid to the motor inlet from the motor exhaust circuit instead of using pump capacity.
This drawback can be overcome in part by provision of fluid control valves as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,807,447 issued to Masuda on Apr. 30, 1974. However, while those valves utilize actuator exhaust fluid for actuator inlet flow requirement when controlling negative loads they regulate actuator inlet pressure by bypassing fluid to a down stream load circuit. Masuda's valves and their proportional control system are based on series type circuit in which excess fluid flow is successively diverted from one valve to the other and in which loads arranged in series determine the system pressure. In such a system flow to the last valve operating a load must be delivered through all of the bypass sections of all of the other system valves, resulting in higher fluid throttling loss. These valves are not adaptable to simultaneous control of multiple loads in parallel circuit operation since they do not provide system load control pressure signal to the pump flow control mechanism.